Tina crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the floor. Why does the lighting look so off on this canvas? She studied the half-finished painting, eyes narrowed. Taking a small step forward, Tina angled one of the white lamps a bit differently, and was much more satisfied with lighting. She almost felt bad that Steve's room had become her art sanctuary, but Tony would freak out if she left so much as a smear on the floor somewhere else. Plus, Steve loved watching her work, so he dealt with her stuff being there. Tina took a few steps backwards and examined each corner of the canvas. Okay…I think I can live with that, she decided. She was broken out of her concentration by the sound of shoes clomping down the hallway.

"Steve?" she called.

In answer, he opened the door and strolled into the room, hands in his pockets, staring up at her. She smiled and pointed at the canvas.

"What do you think of the lighting on this?"

Steve looked briefly at the painting, but almost immediately switched his focus back to Tina.

"It's fine," he said noncommittally.

Tina bit the inside of her lip. Well SOMEONE is cranky...I wonder if the whole "guys day" Tony planned went badly.

"Okay."

His unrelenting gaze was starting to make Tina feel a bit uncomfortable. She stepped down from the high edge of the room and grabbed his hand.

"Are you okay?"

He smiled a bit.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded, taking her other hand in his.

"You seem a little…I don't know…"

Steve tugged on her hands and sat her next to him on the couch. He leaned in close to her.

"I just missed you, that's all," he breathed.

Tina giggled a little drunkenly, the way she tended to when his beautiful face was that close to hers.

"You were only gone a few hours," she reminded him.

"Just the same, I missed you, Christina."

Tina's blood froze. He never called her Christina. Ever, ever, ever. When he felt the need to elongate her name he called her Tina Marie. Never Christina. Her silly nickname was the first inside joke they had, and she knew that he cherished it as much as she did.

Something was wrong.

Steve shook her arm.

"Christina?"

"Oh-oh, yeah I, um, I-I missed you, too," she responded shakily, averting her eyes from his.

Steve leaned in closer and pressed his mouth to hers. He kissed her roughly, pulling on her hair and tugging on her shirt.

For the first time, Steve was no longer the beacon of security for Tina. No longer was he the sheltered haven, the safe harbor, the fearless protector. She was scared of him.

Tina pulled back.

"Hey," she began, frantically trying to stall for some time alone.

"Don't," Steve growled, pulling back to him. "I want you. Right now."

"Oh, I, um, was thinking that, too," she lied, "I was going to go…get ready."

Steve sat back, leering at her.

"Sure," he allowed, "Just don't take too long."

Tina stood and resisted the urge to sprint to the bathroom. Steve goosed her as she left and she fought a scream. She shut and locked the door, then crawled into the linen closet at the far end of the bathroom, hoping that he wouldn't be able to hear her. She pressed the speed dial on her phone for Tony and prayed that he would answer. The dial tone felt like it lasted an eternity.

"Sup."

"Tony," Tina whispered, "Oh thank god. Where are you? I need help, something's wrong."

"Tina? What's going on? Are you in the Tower?" Worry colored the billionaire's usually carefree tone.

"Yes, I'm hiding in my bathroom. It's Steve. There's something…off."

"Steve?" he asked in shock.

"Yeah, he's acting…strange. Kind of threatening. I'm scared, Tony."

"Steve?"

"Yes Tony!" she whispered as loudly as she dared, "Steve."

There was a long pause.

"Tina...it can't be Steve. He's sitting in the car with me."

Tina's heart dropped. If the real Steve is there…who's outside the door? She started hyperventilating.

"Hold on," Tony said.

"Tina? Tina?" Steve's voice sounded panicked.

"Steve? That's not…possible. B-b-but you-you're outside! There's something that looks just like you."

"I know. We're coming, baby. Where are you?"

Tina started shaking. How long is it going to take before not-Steve realizes I caught on?

"In the linen closet," she breathed.

She could hear discussion in the background. Tony was filling everyone in.

"Don't panic, sweetie. Does…it…know where you are? Does it know you figured this out?"

Tina bit her lip in an effort to not cry.

"He-it, it was trying to-to, um t-touch me. It wants…that and I told it was going to get ready."

There was an audible snap from the other end as Steve broke something or another. Tina heard muffled cursing and assumed she was on speakerphone.

"Skrull," she heard Thor growl suddenly. "Somehow this foul creature has gotten to Midgard. What could it want?"

"What?" Clint asked.

"A Skrull. They're beings from a realm called Skrullos. They can shapeshift into any form they desire. They can resemble another person, a lamp, a car. Anything," Thor answered gravely.

"Will it have Steve's strength?" Bruce asked softly.

Tina held her breath.

"That's very possible," Thor said tensely.

A tiny sob escaped Tina.

"We're two minutes away, Tina," Steve said with forced calm. "You're going to be okay."

"We're in Tony's party bus so we're all suited up and everything. You get to see suited up Captain!" Clint joked with a feeble attempt to lighten the mood.

"I called Natasha," she heard Tony say to someone, "She's coming, too."

"Good. I want this guy pinned, and I want to know all his dirty little secrets," Steve's 'captain voice' was beginning to come out. "And then I'm going to beat him into the next century."

Tina heard a fist ram into the bathroom door.

"Christina!" not-Steve said angrily, "What are you doing in there?"

The other end of the phone went silent.

"J-just a minute!" she called weakly.

"Tina. You need to distract him. Don't try to fight him. Ask him questions. Tell him you figured him out if you need to. Don't panic. We're coming, okay? I promised I'd keep you safe, remember?"

Tina nodded, although he couldn't see and put the phone down without turning it off. She climbed out of the closet and reached for the doorknob with a shaking hand. The door flew open the moment she unlocked it. The Skrull was contorting Steve's face with anger. Steve would never look at me like that.

"You don't look very different," he remarked acidly.

"I figured you out," she stated softly, eyes on the floor.

The Skrull sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"What gave me away?" he asked, almost tiredly.

"Tina. Steve calls me Tina."

Not-Steve's eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

"Well it says 'Christina' on your file at SHIELD."

Tina's eyes widened and the thing walked closer to her, until she was pressed against the wall.

"It's a shame you didn't give me what I wanted. You're very pretty, for a human. You'll regret this."

Tina trembled.

"Unlikely," she managed to spit out.

"I'll get you sooner or later," it sneered, "There's more of us than you think," it whispered in her ear.

Tina heard the noise of boots and shouting on the top floor and grinned triumphantly.

"There's about to be one less," she said cockily.

"Oh," laughed the Skrull, "I don't think so."

By the time bedroom door slammed open and Captain America lunged through it, the room was empty. There was silence, a ragged hole in the once-beautiful window, and a ruined painting on the floor.

Ahhh! Oh noes! What are Skrulls doing on Earth? And why would they bother with Tina? What do you think Steve's gonna do?

By the way, I know very little about Skrulls. Taking a bit of creative license here, don't hate.

Review please! Thanks :)